CAMELOT FANTASIES

still we quickly got the inside track by taking the first set 6-4.

nadal should have been able to close the sale after that.

it was nole who was under pressure after that first set.



at any rate its not over. and it wont be over until Rafa lifts another RG crown.


here is my thinking on the matter: nadal can face nole only in the final so basically nadal only has to play 1 really good match at RG and that is in the final.

and with 6 matches to go before the final, rafa can start to find his groove and his rhythm.

he is clearly far more vulnerable now than ever in the best of 3 sets formats but getting to him in a best of 5 sets formats is still pretty much impossible.

I will believe it when I see it. until then Rafa is my favorite for the RG crown.

What is most encouraging, is if you look at the bigger picture, with the way Rafa was playing at the beginning of the week, struggling with Simon and Youzny, it didn't like he'd get to the final. But, he did, and he played an inspired Andy, that was some of the best tennis he's played in a long time.

A very pressure filled match, and to have to follow it up the next day with an attacking player like Dmitrov, who you knew was going to give it his all trying to live up to the hype, and he dismissed him easily because the Andy match ushered in a different level of play.

But all of that extra time on court without being able to rest properly, he did good. In fact, he did excellent. He actually exceeded all of my expectations because I didn't think he would make it to final.

The way I see it, that Andy match was pivotal. That was quite a challenge considering what was at stake, but it also showed Rafa that the level was still in him, and that gives him a lot to build on, come next week.

Simon, Youzny, and Andy gave him the tune-up that he needed. And although he spent so much time on court, when you look at the final, playing against his archest rival, he took the first relatively easy, lost the second set, and then recovered a break in the third.

Just imagine if he was just a little bit fresher. And it still wasn't easy for Nole.

So, I still have hope, because RG is the one that I want. I'm not concerned about anything outside of the majors.

He did good.